Tool for gripping armored cables



p 1930. P. WIGGXNS TOOL FOR GRIPPING ARMORED CABLES Filed Oct. 8, 1928 INVENTOR I Patented Sept-9, 1930 l y 1,775,335

ewe-STATES PATE T O PETER wreeins, or MAsrn-r nnwvonx TOOL FOR GRIPPING ARMOBEID CABLES I J Application filed October 55,11928/heria1 No. 311,001.

The present invention relatesto-tools which to sever the metallic wrapping about the are suitable for gripping or supporting conductors. i v armored cables, andfor holding the cable Still another-objectof my invention is to securely in position so thatit may be severed produce a tool for gripping armored cables e or CLtQIflpitlbjlb any desired point. i for cutting in which the cableissecurely held 55 Intlie prior art, so far as I am aware, it in such position with respectto the cutting I has been customary to either cut the cable at tool that only the minimum amount of the the desired point by means of a hack saw cable will be touched by the cutting tool, and or to catchthe cable in any desired point he the cable as a whole, will be uninjured.

w 0 heath, onefof'the spiral twists in the armor Still another object of my invention is to by meansof a clawing. device adapted torip produce a tool for supporting cables thatis thelarmored portion of the cable. provided with cutting edges within easy Each of the abovenamed methods for reach of the supporting members, so that severing cables is; accompanied by several upon reversing the tool the Workman may i objections. If the cables are cut by means cut the insulated conductorconta-ined with- 65 of a hack saw with nothing to guide the saw in the protective armor ofthe "cable, v i

or to gauge. the depth of the cut the work- Still another object of my invention is to man is incontinual danger of cutting deeper combine with the supporting and cutting than is necessary in order to break themetaltool other instrumentalitiessuch as a screw he surface whichis arranged in'a spiral twist driver, pliers, and tack pulling elements, as a about the insulated conductors contained well other similar arrangements, ,so that therein. Such a method of cutting cables, a workman using a cable gripping tool of the therefore, often .tends to cut the insulation character to be hereinafter described in deg 2 wrapped about the conductors and to cut the a tail will not beobliged to continually change 5 conducting members at an undesired point. from one tool to another in order towork with 75 l In the other case Yabove illustrated where electrical cables in the usual manner. the armor'edcable is cut by meansof a claw- Still other objects of my invention are to ing device adapted to tear the cable, objecproduce a cable supporting tool which is simtiona'ble featuresinoperation are occasioned ple in its construction and arrangement, and

and. jagged edges result. This is afrequent right or lefthanded workmen. a cause ofniany, injuriesflto workmen, in that Other objects are to provide a support while workingwith the cable after it is cut ing tool for cables and the like which is easy r they are so apt to cut'their hands and expose to operate, convenient and practical inits arinfithat the cable is so torn :apartthat rough a tool which is equallyadapted to use by either 85 i i themselvesto unnecessary dangers of infecg rangement, and a supporting or gripping tool 85 tion. l which is inexpensive to manufacture and The present invention, therefore, has as market. i 7 its, primaryobject that of producing a tool Other and ancillary objects will at once be or, device-for supporting or gripping an apparent to those skilled in the art to which 40 armored cable, to be cut apart at a desired this invention relates upon reading the fol-- point, in such a manner that only the heavy lowing specification and claims in connecmetallic wrapping about the cable may be tion with the accompanying drawings, WllQI8 cut, and that of producing a tool whereby in; a l a such cuts as may be made upon the cable will Fig. 1 is a longitudinal side view of my innot result in rough and jagged edges, vention; Still another object of my invention is to Fig. 2 is atop view; i a i produce a gripping or supporting tool for Fig. 3jis a perspective view showing the armored cables that will definitely gauge the arrangement of the cable gripping surface depth ofth'e cut so that only a minimum and the slot for guiding the operating tool amount of cutting will be necessary in order used to cut the cable; and,

ion

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 44 of Fig. 1, and illustrates a section through the slotted guide member.

Now making reference to the accompanying drawings, the arrangement assumes, in its preferred form, the general appearance of a pair of pliers. The tool is formed from two handle members 1 and 3 pivoted at a point 5 in a manner similar to the ordinary pliers used by all mechanics. The members 1 and 3 at a point to the left of the pivot member 5 (looking at the arrangement of the drawings) have provided at their ends jaw members or gripping surfaces 7 and 9. These gripping surfaces, as shown, are provided with milled or knurled surfaces 11 suitable for securely holding objects which may be picked up thereby.

One of the jaw members 9 is considerably widened out between its end portion, where it is used as a gripping member or as a pair of pliers, and the point of pivotal support 5 with the other jaw member 7. In this widened portion 13 I desire to support the armored cable which is to be cut apart.

The widened portion 13 of the jaw 9 is provided with a. spirally grooved surface 15, which is similar in nature to the surface of the well known spirally wrapped armored cable, known in the art as BX cable. This widened or expanded surface 13 is arranged at an angle of approximately 35 with respect to the plane of members 1 and 3, so that upon placing a cable upon the grooved portion of the surface 15 it will rest in a position 35 with respect to the longitudinal alignment of the members 1 and 3. This angle is found to be most suitable for cutting the cables, although, if desired, I may arrange the surface 13 at any other angle.

Now looking at Fig. 2 particularly, it will be seen that the expanded or spread portion 15 of the jaw member 9 has arranged in its upper surface a slot 17. Into this slot a hack saw or other suitable cutting tool will be placed, so that the cable may be cut at any desired point. The slotted portion 17 forms a mitre arrangement and will serve to guide the cutting tool used for working upon the cable (not shown), which is supported by the jaw members 7 and 9. At either end of the slot I have arranged replaceable depth gauges 19 and 21, which may be of hardened steel or the like, for the purpose of guiding the depth of out which the cutting tool may take upon the armored cable supported in the aw members. It will readily be seen that with the hack saw operating upon the armored cable the cutting action will be relatively easy until the saw strikes the hardened surfaces 19 and 21, when the cutting action will become more diflicult, and it will at once be apparent, with the gauges 19 and 21 set at a point with reference to the upper portion of the work positioning spiral grooved portion 15 of the widened face or portion 13 of the jaw member 9 such that the usual type of cable will be cut to just the particular depth that no i11- jury to the insulated cable contained within the armored portion will be apparent, that the cutting operation is complete.

For the purpose of permanency of the tool I have provided the depth gauges 19 and 21 as replaceable units and may, if desired, provide each with threads so that when they become worn they easily may be supplanted by new units, or the gauges may be in the form of plugs which can be driven out and replaced by new ones.

In order that the cable to be cut may be securely held in the spirally grooved and expanded portion 13 of the jaw member 9 I have provided the jaw member 7 with a recessed portion 23 which is directly over the spiral portion 15 of the expanded portion of the jaw 9. It is thus seen that by gripping the ends 25 and 27 of the handle members 1 and 3 the jaws 7 and 9 will tend to hold securely any object placed within them.

At this pointit is also desirable to state that the slotted portion 17 of the jaw 9 is arranged at such an angle with respect to the tool and with respect to the cable supported thereby that when a hack saw, or other tool, is used to cut the cable it will only out just that portion of the cable that is absolutely necessary in order to break the same apart.

At the point of pivotal support 5 I have recessed the handle members 1 and 3 as shown at 29 and 31. In these recessed portions I have arranged the replaceable members 33 and 35 which are of hardened steel and arranged to form a bearing surface for the pivoted jaw and at the same time a wire cutting device. In accordance with this arrangement the hardened steel members 33 and 35 perform the dual function of providing by their inner surface a hard bearing surface for the relatively movable jaw members and of providing for cutting with the portion thereof which extends outwardly from the point .of pivotal support. In accordance with this arrangement when the armored portion of the cable has been cut it is usually desirable to thereafter cutthe insulated portion and conductors, but in most cases at a different point from where the cable was broken since the conductor must extend sufficiently far out from the armor to make desired electrical connections. This operation can be accomplished by merely reversing the tool and using the members 33 and 35 as ordinary wire cutters.

In order to provide a tool which is useful for many uses to which electricians and mechanics are usually accustomed I have arranged in the end 25 of the handle member 1 a claw device 37, which may be useful for pulling nails, tacks, and the like used in combination with a supporting ring to hold the cable in place. At the end 27 of the handle member 3 I have provided a screw driver portion 39. These last named portions are mentioned only by way of example and I do not claim that they in any way enter into the novelty of my arrangement only insofar as they are suited to the convenience of the mechanic in not making it necessary to change from one tool to another when working with 3 are then securely gripped so'that the jaws j to 7 and 9 are brought together and the cable is kept tightly in position. At this time a hack saw, or other suitable cutting tool, is placed in the mitre slot 17 and a saw cut is made upon the cable member. This cutting is then con? tinued until the saw comes to the depth gauges 19 and 21, which means that the cable is cut suflicientlydeep to break apart.

Whenthe cable is cut, as above described, the grip upon the same is released, and upon twisting the cable it is observed'that the cable will separate into two parts and that the armored portion may be slid along the cable so that the workmen may connect the conductors to the desired points of electrical con- 7 tact. In order to make the proper electrical connection it is now-necessary to cut the conductors which are contained within the armored cable and this maybe conveniently done by simply reversing the gripping tool and placing the conductors within the cutting members 33 and 35, and cutting the conductor in any well known-manner.

Having now described my invention in its preferred embodiment it is understood that I may make such modifications therein as fall fairly within the spirit and scope of the in mid-length of said slot arranged opposite the deepest point of transverse curvature ofthe said spiral groove intersected by the plane of the said slot for forming a guide for a cutting tool for cutting the outer surface of a cable supported within said aw members.

2. A cable gripping tool as claimed in claim 1,including in addition, a depth gauge at each end of said slotted portion at a predetermined position with reference to the upper portion of the spiral grooves in said recess for gauging the depth of cutting onthe outer surface of said supported cable.

3. A cable gripping tool of the class described including a pair of relatively movable jaw members, a transversely extending widened face provided on one of said jaw members, said widened face being provided on its inner face with a spirally grooved semi-circularly shaped recessed portion for conforming to the shape of a spirally wrapped armored cable for positioning and supporting the cable in a predetermined position upon movement of said jaws to clamp against each other, said widened face of said jaw member having a slotted portion extending transversely to the outer facethereof and through to the inner face thereof for a portion of its length at an acute angle with reference to the axial line of said spiralgrooves and so arranged that the mid-length of said slot is opposite the deepest point of transverse curvature of the spiral groove intersected by the planeof the slot so as to form a miter guide for a cutting tool adapted to be inserted in said slot forcutting said sup ported cable, and a pair of replaceable depth gauges at the ends of said slot,'said gauges being positioned at the ends of said slot with reference to the upper portion of the ridges of said spiral grooves for positioning said a cable so as to definitely gauge the depth of cut of the cutting tool upon the said positioned and supported cable. a PETER l/VIGGINS.

over a cable supported in said first named re cess portion and securing the said cable in said predetermined position in said recess, said first named jaw member being provided with a slotted portion extending transverse- 1y thereof and at an angle with respect to said grooved recessed portion and having the 

